Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beet and Carrot

This vibrant and fresh salad is adapted from the hilarious Thug Kitchen Cookbook. It is a healthy eater's dream! Colorful, vibrant, fresh, and satisfyingly full of protein and veggies. I have enjoyed trying some of Thug Kitchen's recipes, but what I enjoy most is just reading through the recipes. If you like cheerful profanity and healthy recipes, you might want to check them out. I can't help but LOL every time I read a recipe or see one of their posts on Instagram. 

I love using fresh herbs in dishes and I am obviously obsessed with quinoa (and beets...and kale) so this dish seemed like a no-brainer to make. I had some extra carrots hanging out in my fridge and thought what the heck...let's throw these bad boys in. I actually added chopped zucchini to my first batch as well but didn't think about the fact that they would turn completely pink (from the beets) and look super funky. I left them out in the second batch. Beets and carrots will do just fine! 

Speaking of pink, I had leftovers of this dish for lunch the next day and realized when I went to unpack it, the quinoa turned bright pink! Except it kind of made me happy. Who wouldn't want pink quinoa for lunch?! Pink zucchini = no. Pink quinoa = YES. 

This meal is perfect for a side or a main dish. We had it as a main dish and gobbled it right up. This is one of those meals that can be eaten hot or cold. My hubby tends to like things hot while I could go either way. I am one of those people who can eat cold leftover spaghetti straight from the fridge and enjoy it. Is that weird? Do other people do that too? Scott is completely repulsed and grosses out when I do that lol. Oops. The bottom line is...hot or cold, you can't go wrong with this dish! 

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beet and Carrot (V + GF)

Adapted from the Roasted Beet and Quinoa Salad recipe from the Thug Kitchen Cookbook

In the words of Thug Kitchen: "Just because it's vegan, doesn't mean it can't be badass"

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Salad

  • 3 medium beets, peeled and chopped into small chunks
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into small chunks
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • Salt & pepper (to taste)
  • 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
  • 2 cups vegetables broth
  • 3 cups kale, chopped
  • 1/4 cup herbs of your choice (I used parsley and basil)
  • 2 green onions, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Make the dressing by adding all dressing ingredients into a jar with a lid. Shake well and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix your chopped beets and carrots with 1 tsp red wine vinegar and 2 tsp olive oil. Season beets and carrots with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the veggies in a baking dish and cook in preheated oven for 45 minutes (stirring half-way through cooking).
  5. While the beets are cooking, prepare quinoa by bringing vegetable broth and quinoa to a boil. Once boiling, cover and turn down to a simmer. It will take about ~20 minutes for the quinoa to cook. 
  6. Mix cooked quinoa with chopped kale and fresh herbs. Then add the roasted beets and carrots to your quinoa mixture. 
  7. Pour dressing over mixture and mix until well combined. Top with green onions. 
  8. Enjoy hot or cold!

xoxo,

Lauren

 

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